The Page of Cups is dressed in an aqua tunic trimmed in gold; the tunic is detailed to look like the scales of a fish. Indeed, a headdress in the form of a blue fish sits atop his head. The page holds a goblet in which a fish is peeking out, and there are fins on the calves of his leggings. There is a glowing pearl on the tip of the fish's tongue. The page seems to be tickling the fish under its chin. The water behind the page is calm and a whale (?) is diving back down under the water, and its large tail fin is visible. This page is focused on the fish and doesnt' seem to be looking at where he's going .

What is the significance of the large whale in the background, diving back underwater?

This page so wants to be a fish (based on his attire)...why?

He seems to be so focused on the fish, and having the fish, that he is ignoring the pearl that the fish is offering him.

The Page of Cups has been a card to represent those kids in life that just always seem to have their heads in the clouds and living in another world. When they play they are always dressed up and never play as themselves.

I can also see this as the symbolic act of getting into character or even empathy. The ability to see past yourself and identify with something or someone else.

The upside is the creativity and the brillance or originality as they are the ones that can show us new worlds that we would overlook. The reversed side is the daydreaming waste of potential.

the fish symbolize creative ideas. This kid is so creative he's even dressed like a fish and is tickling another fish jumping from his cup. The Whale is the BIG idea...The big creative ideas down in the deepest waters.

David Lynch has this perfect expression: Ideas are like fish. If you stay in the shallow waters, you'll catch little fish. If you want the big ideas, you gotta go deep.

The water is the unconscious. The fish are the "ideas" swimming around in it

HerzogIsGod I love the idea that the whale is diving down for bigger ideas. The page has fished for a small fish and got a small idea - thats got him hungry for a bigger quest, a bigger idea (that becomes the Knight of Cups).

I too love the Page's get up - almost as those to other people he appears a Fool, but he is doing all he can to absorb the potential of that fish. He is interested in what it wants, it needs it feels, it thinks - that the material 'wealth' being offered in the shape of a pearl is going unnoticed because the Page is just not interested.

There is deep compassion, empathy, but theres no boundary or barrier. This is an all and everything kind of person, someone who jumps straight into an idea with two feet, plunging into the depths. They cant filter out what is good or bad for them, like a fish who has to filter all the water to get the oxygen out, including absorbing all the chemicals and ick in the water too.

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